That One Night
by MiChElLe05
Summary: It took only one night to change everything. BatistaOC, OrtonStacy, Cena.
1. Chapter 1

Sophia Bautista smiled as one of her students approached her. Well, not really a 'student' so to speak, but everyone who took her dance class was classified as one. Owning a dance studio had it's pros and cons for Sophia. She got to do what she loved and that was dance…but for being 'well' known, she'd get her share of high class people coming in to see if what she taught was to their 'liking'. Sophia most of the time rolled her eyes and passed it by but when it happened to be her own brother and fiancé taking the class, that really didn't make it any easier. So, the best thing she did was just take it for the time being.

"Yes, Stacy?" She replied as she stood up to greet her soon to be sister-in-law. Oh, the quiver it put in her stomach to think about it. "Everything okay?" She asked with a hint of sarcasm.

Stacy replaced the cap on her water bottle before speaking. "Don't you guys have an air conditioner in here? Everyone is dying of heat." She said in that high tone of voice, which she only used to complain…which seemed like all the time.

Sophia cleared her throat and just looked at her brother as he approached the two women. "We've only been dancing for twenty minutes, Stacy..." She took a quick minute to scan the room. "And it seems to me everyone else is doing quite fine." She finished with a big fake smile.

Randy Orton wrapped his arm around his sister's shoulders. "Everything okay with my two favorite women?" He asked as a smirk spread across his face. Although he knew the hatred between the two, it was still fun to tease.

Stacy huffed and grabbed her fiancé's hand. "Whatever. Come on, we have to get this dance down before our wedding. That by the way is coming in less than a month." The blonde stated as she tugged Randy towards her.

"And you had to choose my class." Sophia said under her breath making the twosome stare her way.

"Did you say something?" Randy questioned his sister.

Sophia just shushed them away and gathered her students back on to the dance floor. She cringed when she heard Stacy's high pitched laugh. God, and she had to deal with it for the rest of her life? Maybe she should just kill herself right now. Putting a smile back on her face, she resumed her spot in front of the couples as the music blared from the speakers.

"Okay, start off from the beginning and then we'll move on." Sophia snapped her fingers as she counted out loud to the beats of the music.

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Sophia Marie Bautista, originally born an Orton before she got married to her husband of four years. Randy Orton was her one and only sibling, thank God because he was enough. A year younger to her age of twenty-nine, but still acted as if he was ten years older. Their parents were still 'together' in the sense, but had their share of problems that were always off and on. Randy nor Sophia never took it upon themselves to get involved…they didn't know why but they just didn't.

Dave Bautista was his name. Her husband's name to be exact. They met through Randy. The two men both worked on the police force as homicide detectives. Although they never really liked to use the title because of the things they would deal with day in and day out. Dave and Sophia started off as an attraction but soon fell into something more. They dated for at least a year before he finally 'popped' the question over a romantic dinner at his place. It'd be four years on her upcoming thirty birthday. Never in her life did she think she'd ever get married. Let alone four years. But he'd been the one to sweep her off her feet, the one to put a smile on her face every morning. He could easily be considered the epitome of every woman's dream.

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	2. Chapter 2

John Cena sighed to himself as he watched his last class leave for the day. He'd been a History teacher for three years now and he still wasn't quite used to it. Sometimes he felt like no one took him seriously because of his young age of thirty-three. He definitely wasn't your typical male teacher, but he'd chose this profession since his toddler days and had worked hard for it. His choice, so he'd continue to deal with it.

"You look like you've had a hard day." A female voice rang as the slam of a door could be heard.

John opened his eyes and smiled and found his wife walking towards him. "It's always a hard day." He stated as he watched her hop up on his desk. "How was your day?" He questioned as he stood up to give her a kiss.

Trish Cena placed her hands on his chest and smiled. "Typical." She simply stated.

He'd met Trish the first year he started teaching. She worked as a secretary in the school office. You couldn't say it was love at first sight, but it was definitely something like it. It was at a staff Christmas party where they hit it off and from there the sparks continued to fly. Only after six months of dating, John had popped the question. Some people would've said it was a little too soon, but it was two years later and neither one was regretting it.

"How about a nice evening out on the town tonight?" John suggested as he hands came to rest upon her waist.

Trish wrapping her arms around his neck nodded. "That sounds nice."

_------------------------------------------------_

Another evening. Sophia sighed at the thought of having to deal with the infamous couple yet again. Glancing at her watch, she still had twenty minutes before class started. Dave had just come through the door when she was about to walk out. Just how it always seemed to happen. Even though he'd probably only get minutes to sit down, she would've loved to have those minutes between them. One quick kiss and apologies before they left each other again. What pissed her off even more is that he and Randy were in the same line of work but yet somehow Randy was here at her class every night. Why couldn't her husband get those kind of breaks? She made a point to bring it up when she saw her brother. Her thoughts were broken when she heard a faint sound of voices coming through the hall. _They're early_. Amused, Sophia flicked an eyebrow up and waited for their entrance.

_-------------------------------------------------_

Trish hung on to her husband's arm as they walked into the building. The look on John's face was a horrified one. When he planned a night out on the town, he really wasn't expecting to do this, somehow though his lovely wife had convinced him it'd be fun to try out.

"Couldn't we just go out to a bar or something? There's dancing there." John tried her out as he stopped walking.

Trish laughed and tugged on his arm. "Come on, John. It'll be fun. I promise." She stated surely.

John sighed and just nodded as he continued to let his wife drag him down the hall. The room was just as big as one of his classrooms, but looked bigger because of the open space. He let out a sigh of relief when there was no sign of anyone. Maybe luck was on his side tonight.

"Oh, nobody here. I guess we'll have to do it another night." John said as he made a quick observance.

Trish grabbed his hand before he walked away. "There has to be somebody here…" She started before they started around the room. "Maybe class hasn't started yet." She finished.

John sighed. "Trish, I really have to go home and look over some papers. Maybe another night." He tried to reason.

Trish shot him a look. "Don't play that card on me Cena." She stated sternly.

John just slumped his shoulders and was about to come up with something else but was interrupted by a female voice that wasn't his wife's.

"Welcome, you're here for the seven o' clock class?" Sophia questioned with a beaming bright smile.

Trish gushed and wrapped her arm around her husband's waist. "We haven't signed up or anything but my husband and I want to give the class a go." She said returning the bright smile.

Sophia threw her arms up. "No problem at all. You've come at the right time, all the couples are going over the tango. We'll start from the beginning so you two can catch up." She took a glance at her watch. "They should be arriving any minute so just take a seat and make yourself comfortable." Sophia put out her hand. "I'm Sophia. I'll be your instructor." She introduced herself.

Trish took her hand and shook it. "Trish and this is my husband John." She said taking a glance at her husband who just plastered a smile on his face as he too reached out to shake Sophia's hand.

"Nice to meet you and welcome again." She took a glance at John. "You'll enjoy it in time." She said with a quick smile before retreating to the opposite side of the room.

John watched her before turning back to his wife. "Really?"

Trish nodded. "Really." She stated dragging him over to a seat. "Plus, it's the tango. The dance of romance and love." She gushed as she grabbed on to her husband's arm.

John just rolled his eyes in response. _What in the hell had he gotten himself into?_

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	3. Chapter 3

Sophia accompanied Trish and John as they walked out of the studio, just basically giving them the overview of what they'd be learning in the next few weeks. Sophia couldn't help but admire the married couple, sort of reminded her of how it was with she and Dave when they _actually_ got to spend a night out with each other. She'd found out John was a teacher and Trish a secretary in the school office. They didn't go into detail to how they met, but just by looking at them, it could just basically be written as love at first sight. God, how she missed her husband.

"See, John. I'd knew you'd enjoy it." Trish gushed as she wrapped an arm around his waist.

John just playfully rolled his eyes. "Okay, yeah. I was better than I thought I would be."

Sophia couldn't help but let a small chuckle escape. She blushed when the couple looked her way. "I'm sorry, you two just remind me of my husband and I."

Trish smirked and tilted her head. "Ah, so you're in the married life too? Fun isn't it?"

Sophia sighed and shrugged. "Eh." Was all she said before both women broke into laughter.

John cleared his throat. "Husband right here." He said raising his hand.

Trish nodded her head and just gave Sophia a 'look'. "What would they do without us?"

"I would seriously be afraid to see that sight." Sophia pointed out as she held the door open for the couple. She peeked inside and shook her head when she saw the about to be married couple bickering over something. Already having trouble and with not even a month until the wedding.

Closing the door behind her, she joined the couple outside. She wrapped her arms around herself as she stared up into the wind chilled night. Rain was coming. It was rare to see rain in Miami during the summer months, so people automatically could smell it in the air before it even came. Sighing she turned back to the couple with a smile on her face.

"I could very well take care of myself, without any outside help…" Was what John was saying when Sophia caught back on to the conversation.

Trish turned to Sophia and rolled her eyes. Sophia just responded with a smirk. Letting them continue their little 'fight' fest she turned her head to the left. Her eyebrows frowned when she spotted a dark color navigator slowly approaching. The window rolled down and all Sophia saw was the gun pointed at her. Before she could process anything the shots went off, her only reaction was falling to the ground.

_BAM!...BAM!...BAM!...BAM!...BAM!...BAM!_

Six shots were fired before everything went quiet again. Sophia slowly looked up to see the navigator half way around the corner. And then she heard the cry. Her head whipped to where John and Trish would be and in fact they were, but it was John rocking her back and forth in his arms. There was blood on his hands.

"Oh God." Was the only thing she could respond as she brought a shaky hand to her mouth. This wasn't happening. This couldn't be happening. She found his eyes and they just stared at her with such pain. He was calling out something, but Sophia couldn't process it.

Than finally when brought back to life the numbers nine-one-one could be heard as Randy and Stacy rushed into the scene. Randy's hand held on to a gun, but immediately put it down when he saw Trish in John's arms. Sophia watched as he talked on his cell, a quick call was made before he rushed over to the couple's side. Jumping at the feeling of arms wrapping around her, Sophia looked up to see Stacy. Whatever bitterness that was between them, had been taken away in one quick moment.

_--------------------------------------------------------_

John stared helplessly at the hospital walls as he sat in the waiting room. His wife had been shot right in front of him and yet there was nothing he could do. All he knew, was that there were probably a probably group of doctor's rushing around trying to do anything they could to save her. God, she had to be okay.

"Mr. Cena?" John flicked his eyes up to a male, who stood about to be in his late forties. Sort of like a George Clooney look-a-like. And by how the nurses stared at him, he was probably 'that' guy. "I'm Dr. Madison, husband of the shooting victim?" John nodded as they shook hands.

"You were able to save her, right?" John asked as hope filled his eyes.

The doctor looked sympathetically at the male and slowly shook his head. "I'm sorry Mr. Cena, we did all we could do. From the bullet hitting an artery just right below her abdomen…more precisely what we call the Femoral artery…" John cut him off as he grabbed the collar of his white coat and threw him up against the wall. "Mr. Cena…"

"No, I don't want all those fucking medical terms…you better tell me that my wife is alright or else I swear to fucking God right now that I'll make you regret it!" John growled in his face. Everyone in the waiting room looked on with horror. One of the security guards made a move, but someone else cut in.

Randy grabbed John's arm and twisted it behind his back as he dragged him and pushed him out through the hospital doors.

"Do you want to get yourself arrested?" Randy questioned as he pushed John away from him.

John puffed the air and just glared at the other male in front of him. His hands ran over his face in frustration. This was a nightmare. This was all a fucking nightmare.

"I'm going to wake up anytime right? God, let me fucking wake up." John sighed as he stared aimlessly at the ground.

Randy grimaced. Being in the line of work he was in, you dealt with this kind of thing everyday, but it was probably still the most disturbing and hardest thing to do. No one wanted to lose anyone. Much less watch them in your arms as they slowly perished away.

"John…" Randy sighed. "I could only imagine what's going on through you head right now, but…" John sent a glare his way.

"But what? Life goes on right?" John mocked as he took a step closer. "Don't fucking give me that bullshit! You try watching your wife die in your arms." He threw up his arms. "God, she was already dead before they could even do anything to help her." The male in him had held in the tears, but the realization he'd just made was too much to bare for anyone.

Randy watched as the male crumbled in front of him. He'd just met the couple earlier that night and could see the love and passion that surrounded them. He'd probably react just the same if he was on the other side of the whole situation. All he could do was place a hand on the male's shoulder and wait. He swallowed and stared up. Moments like this always made him wonder why he'd chosen this line of work.

_---------------------------------------------------------_

Sophia tried to stop herself from shaking. She blew out a puff of air as she shook her hands off. The forensic team was already on hand to take in any evidence they could. Her patience grew weary as she waited for an update on Trish's condition. Why had this happened? Why tonight? Why them?

"Sophia." She turned to her husband and just automatically fell into his arms. He'd been on another case when he'd gotten the call from Randy. "You okay?" He quickly asked as he held her at arms length.

Sophia nodded. "I'm fine." She looked up at her husband. "Why, did this happen Dave?"

"That's what we'll find out." Was all he could say. "Can you tell me what happened?" He questioned as the detective in him broke through. When his wife nodded he slowly walked her through the doors of the studio. He nodded to Stacy as she herself was being questioned by authorities. He decided her office would probably be the best place for privacy. Leading her inside he sat her down and pulled up another chair to take a seat across from her. Pulling out his pen and pad he looked up and just waited for his wife to talk.

_----------------------------------------------------------_

Sophia took a breath and looked up at her husband. "I could smell rain coming as soon as I stepped foot outside. Trish and John along with Stacy and Randy were the last ones there." A smile crossed her face. "They reminded me so much of you and I. I just couldn't help but admire them." Dave flicked a smile as he reached out to touch his wife's knee.

"I always walk out my new couples and nothing was different about tonight." She took a minute to shake her head. "I turned my head and there it was…" Dave stopped writing and tilted his head. "What?" Sophia swallowed. "Navigator. It was either black or blue, because it blended in with the night sky. It just creeped up on us and before I could react the shots had already been fired…." Her mouth stayed open. "The gun was pointed right at me, Dave." She looked up into her husband's eyes. "Those shots were meant for me."

Dave set the pad of paper down and scooted closer to his wife. "Why do you say that?" Sophia gripped tightly when he grabbed her hand. "I saw the window roll down and watched the gun point right at me." She shook her head. "Why, would someone want to do that to me? And now because of it, someone else got hurt in return." She swallowed and took a breath. "How is she? Do you know anything?" She asked quickly changing the subject. Dave just slowly shook his head. "Randy told me that they weren't able to save her. They said she had already been gone by the time she got to the hospital." He grimaced as he watched the pained look on his wife's face.

"Oh God. I killed someone." Dave started but she shook her head. "Those shost were meant for me, Dave. I don't know why, but I know they were. I should be the one dead not her." Dave took a hold of her shoulders to hold her still. "Don't do this to yourself, Sophia. Whoever shot that gun killed her, not you." He gritted his teeth and looked away. "And don't ever again say that you should be the one dead." Sophia just closed her eyes and let her head fall onto his shoulder. "Why did this happen?" She managed in between cries. Dave caressed her back and kissed her neck. "Randy and I will do everything we can to figure that out." Was the only thing he could say to assure her. He closed his eyes and let his wife cry on his shoulder. This job hadn't been made for the weak at heart.

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	4. Chapter 4

The next couple of weeks were anything but normal. Sophia couldn't get a wink of sleep. Her eyes just stared up at the ceiling as the scenes from that day ran through her mind. Dave wasn't nowhere to be seen, because of he and Randy being the head detectives in the investigation. She'd be questioned…and questioned again. The phone was ringing off the hook with some of her clients, giving her their best wishes and asking if she every needed anything, they'd be there for her. All of them went over her head because she felt like if anyone needed best wishes it was John Cena…the man who'd lost his wife in this whole thing. She'd called his home, but no answer…the same could be said for Dave and Randy who were trying to get a hold of him as well. They'd even gone over in person, but it was the same result. Knowing how the widowed male was feeling they decided just to let him be until he was ready to talk about it.

"You should've called me." Dave's voice rang over the phone.

Sophia was standing in front of her dance studio. She hadn't been there since that night. "I'm fine." She sighed as she took a slow step forward towards the door.

"They could be following you, Sophia." He stated with a hint of anger in his voice.

Sophia ignored his comment. "I'll call you later. Love you." She stated before she ended the call.

Her eyes looked down and over to where Trish had taken her last breaths. The beating in her heart sped up in a rapid pace. That bullet was meant for her and she had no absolute reason as to why. There was someone out there who wanted her dead and for a reason that was beyond her. She'd listed all of her boyfriends before Dave and anyone else that might have it in for her. She'd broken a couple of hearts, but she knew that none of them were capable of murder. Something scared her about this whole situation…a feeling that no one person should feel.

Digging through her purse, she found the keys to open her studio. Finally feeling calm enough with herself, she took another step forward to slip the key into the hole. Footsteps could be heard coming up behind her and she froze. They'd come back…they'd come back to kill her. Holding the key tightly in her hand she whipped around ready to battle whomever came to end her life.

"You won't get away with it!" She exclaimed as she slashed the key across the person's face. The male groaned and looked up only to reveal John Cena's horrified expression.

Sophia's mouth opened in shock and she just stood there watching as John grabbed his face. Throwing her keys back into her purse she stepped towards him.

"Oh my God, I' am so sorry…I thought…" She stumbled as she rested her hands on his forearm.

John brushed her off. "That fucking hurt." He cursed as he looked at his bloody fingers.

Sophia sighed and placed her hands to cover her face. "My God I'm going crazy. I thought you were them and that you'd come back to kill me." She explained as she leaned herself up against the buildings' wall.

John swallowed as he stared at the panicked woman. "Come back?" He questioned in confusion.

Sophia flicked her eyes up at him. "That bullet was meant for me. I should be the one dead, not your wife." John's expression changed in one quick second and Sophia cursed herself for bringing up the very sore subject. "I'm sorry…" She started but he just waved her off.

"How do you know this?" He continued with the questions.

The scene flashed before her eyes. "I saw the gun and it was pointed right at me…" She closed her eyes as she tried to compose herself.

John just stared on in confusion. Nothing had made sense to him since Trish's death. One minute she had been talking and laughing and the next, there she was being carried off into the ambulance. Sleep wasn't simply an option as he tried to comprehend everything. He hadn't been to work since that day and he had no intention of returning anytime soon…or at least until he figured out who killed his wife, so he could return the favor to the sick son of bitch.

"Why are you here, anyways?" Sophia's question brought him out of his thoughts.

He opened his mouth to speak, but turned towards the spot where he'd held Trish in his arms. "I've come here every night since then." He finally answered as his eyes continued to stare.

Sophia's heart broke for the male in front of her. No one deserved to lose anyone the way he did. She grimaced at the mark she'd left on his face and stepped forward to grab a hold of his wrist.

"I have some stuff to get that cleaned up. I'm sorry again." She apologized again as she grabbed the keys out of her purse for the second time to open up the studio doors.

John looked down at the female's hand. They were more slender then Trish's but the manicure she had on probably had a lot to do with it. He let her lead him inside and into a room, to what looked like an office. This was probably where he and Trish would've come to sign up to continue on with the dance classes…the classes he had never wanted to come to in the first place. Damn her for wanting to come here. She never would've died that night.

"Who killed her…who killed my wife?" His anger took over as he grabbed the woman by her wrists.

Sophia looked into his fiery eyes. "I do…don't know." She struggled with her words as she tried to get out of his grasp.

John shook her. "You said they were after you. Tell me who they were, damn it!" He exclaimed.

Sophia let out a cry as she let the tears fall. "I don't know who's after me. Please John, you're hurting me." She pleaded as the tight grip he had were making an effect.

John's chest raised up in down in a violent manner as he tried to catch his breath. He let her go of her wrists and just fell into a chair. His head fell into his hands.

"She was supposed to be here forever…God, how I need her." The male couldn't control his emotions anymore as he felt the tears sting the cut on his face.

Sophia crouched down in front of him and wrapped her arms around his neck to rest his head on her shoulder. He was hurting and it could very well be her fault. That bullet should've hit her and she should've died…not Trish…not this man's wife, who he needed more than ever.

"You don't know how sorry I am. How I wish I knew who it was…God, I don't even know why they're after me." She spoke as the two separated. Her hands quickly wiped away the tears. She waved her hands. "You don't want to hear that. Just let me get you cleaned up and you can go." She stated before she stood up to search for the first aid kit.

John's sympathetic eyes followed the female around the room as she rum edged through her office. He heard the frustrated sighs she belt out to herself. Her average height tried to reach up for a case on a tall shelf and instead everything ended up crashing to the floor. John watched as her embarrassed eyes found his before quickly falling to the floor to search through the mess.

"It's okay. I'm fine." John stated out loud.

Sophia shook her head. "No. I hurt you. Just let me find…" She let it linger as she threw stuff to the side. "Damn it. Where the fuck is it?" She cursed as she continued to throw stuff across the small office.

Sophia closed her eyes as she felt arms wrap around her. "Just let me find it." She stated in a frustrated sigh. She was ignored as she felt herself being helped up off the floor. "I'm so sorry." She cried as she turned into his chest. "I'm so sorry …" She repeated as the tears that never seemed to go away started up again.

John wrapped his arms around the female in a comforting manner. He grimaced at the sound of her cries. "It's not your fault." He stated hoping that it would assure the fragile figure in his arms.

"But it is. I should be the one dead instead of your wife…she should be the one in your arms right now." She continued to cry.

John just blinked at her words. How he wanted the last part to be true…to feel his wife's arms around him again and his around her.

"It's not your fault Sophia. I don't blame you…I'm just angry…angry and frustrated because I can't figure out what happened to my wife." He explained using her name for the first time that night. He held her at arms length. "And I know she doesn't blame you either." He sighed. "She told me that night that she thought you and her would become the best of friends…please don't blame yourself Sophia...she wouldn't want you to."

Sophia flicked a smile. "I thought the exact same thing. I could already see the two of us complaining about our husbands…having a girls' night out…" She shook her head at the thoughts she knew would never happen.

John pulled off his coat and wrapped it around her shoulders. "You're shaking." He pointed out as she hugged the coat. The look in her eyes told him why. "You're scared." He simply stated.

Sophia closed her eyes as she nodded her head. "Beyond." She stated.

John had come to try and comfort himself with his wife's death, but in turn was trying to comfort a scared, fragile woman. Someone was after her and no one knew how she was feeling except her. He wrapped his arms around her again.

"I'm not going to be a comforting soul, but I know if Trish was here…she'd be here for you." He said as he found his chin resting on top of her head. "So as best I can, I'll be here for you."

Sophia sighed in comfort. "Thank you." Pulling away from him she found his eyes with hers. "We'll catch whoever killed her." She said sure of herself.

John nodded his head. "Damn right we will."

**X-x-x-X**


	5. Chapter 5

Dave Bautista threw down the files on his desk as he fell back into his chair. "This fucking case is kicking my ass." He cursed out loud grabbing the attention of his colleagues.

"Oh. It's always a pleasure to hear that coming from your mouth." Paul Levesque stated as he sent an amused smirk towards Dave.

Dave flicked his eyes over at Paul. "Get off my balls, Levesque. You know you love me all too much." That comment had the rest of the guys laughing and Paul getting up in a huff as he exited the room.

Paul and Dave worked together, but never liked each other. A lot of it had to do with Dave moving ahead of Paul in such a fast manner that there was bound to be jealousy between the two males.

"So I'm guessing from an earlier comment that there's nothing new with the case." Randy spoke up as he crossed over to Dave's desk.

"You guessed right." Dave started. "Not one person that night saw anything other then the three that were involved."

Randy rested a hip on the edge of the desk as he tossed through the files. "Yeah. One of them being my sister." A sick feeling in his stomach returned when he had to think of somebody out there wanting to kill her.

Dave read the look on his face. "Who happens to be my wife." He pointed out grabbing Randy's attention again. "Who the fuck would want to harm Sophia? Does she have a secret past that none of us no about?" He meant that last comment in a sarcastic way, but after saying it he and Randy just stared at each other.

Randy hopped off the desk as he crossed over to grab his coat off his chair. "She may be my sister, but I don't know_ everything_ about her."

Dave grunted as he followed suit. Having to question his wife_ again_. Definitely something he didn't sign up for when he took the job.

"You drive." Dave ordered throwing the keys to Randy.

"She's _my_ sister." Randy commented as they slid into the car.

Dave sighed as he stared out the window. "Yeah, but I fell in love with her." He pointed out as he slid his seatbelt on.

Randy just nodded his head as he pulled out of the parking lot. This was probably the third or fourth time he had to question her about everything, but this time it was going to be a whole different set of questions.

**X-x-x-x-x-X**

Sophia had just gotten back from her weekly visit with John when she heard the key turning in the lock. A smile crossed her face in anticipation of seeing her husband. Hopping off the couch she walked over to meet him as he walked through the door.

"Baby." She greeted as he walked in.

Dave wrapped his arms around his wife when she hopped into his arms. A quick kiss was given before Randy let his presence be known.

"Oh hey Randall. I didn't even see you there." Sophia apologized as she made way to give her brother a quick hug.

Randy grimaced at his nickname. "You know I hate it when you call me that." He stated as he watched Sophia close the door behind them.

Sophia smirked as she brushed past him. "Exactly."

Randy made a face behind her back and received a 'look' from Dave. "Yeah. You're definitely the younger sibling." He stated out loud receiving a frown from his partner slash brother-in-law.

Sophia took her place back on the couch as she watched the two men take the seats across from her. She scrunched her eyebrows at the setting.

"Is something wrong?" She blurted out grabbing their attention.

Dave cleared his throat as he slipped his jacket off. "No. Why would there be?" He lied.

Sophia sighed as she sat back and crossed her arms. "Dave." She stated sternly.

Dave grimaced at the look that she gave him. He may be there to interrogate her, but she was still indeed his wife.

"Seriously nothing is wrong." Randy put in as he adjusted his feet on the table.

Sophia crossed her legs. "Feet down…" She directed towards her brother.

Randy quickly did what he was told. "Sorry." He stated softly.

Dave couldn't help the chuckle that came out. "I could just imagine when you and Stacy are finally married." He continued to laugh until his wife's voice shut him up.

"This isn't a typical family visit is it?" She questioned as the two men slowly turned their heads to look at her.

"Of course it is." Randy started as he nudged Dave for the previous comment. "We had some spare time and what better way to spend it." He finished as he directed a polite smile towards his sister.

Sophia sent a glare to both men. "Really?" She started. "Then why is my husband sitting across from me with that look." She pointed out.

Randy turned to see what she was talking about and smirked when Dave pushed his face out of the way.

"What look?" Dave questioned trying to play dumb.

Sophia sucked her teeth as she leaned forward. "That look that you wear every time you step out of that door to go to work." She informed. "What do you want to question me about this time?" She questioned. "You know I'd tell if anything where to pop up."

Dave stalled for a while. "Sophia…"

"Dave. Just shut up and ask what you are here to ask." She stated with a grim look on her face. Not exactly something she was looking forward to when her husband walks through the door.

Both men looked at each other and knew they were both in trouble, but just decided to do what they were there to do. Dave gave in as he pulled out his notepad from his back pocket.

"Baby. It's just something that we have to do." He stated hoping to somewhat calm the situation.

"Dave. Don't test me anymore then you should." Sophia stated as she rose from the couch to grab the water bottle she'd left on the kitchen counter.

Dave sighed. _Damn it._ "We've gone back and forth on this case for weeks now and all we've done is hit a dead end every time." He started as his wife indicated for him to go on. "You know we have to consider everything when investigating a crime like this." He paused to look over at Randy who was trying his best not to make eye contact with his sister.

Sophia closed her eyes as she twisted the cap of the bottle. "Please. Just get to the point."

Dave moved around in his seat. "Sophia." He stated her name so she'd look their way. "We know the fact that someone is out there who wants to kill you, but the part we don't know about is why." Sophia nodded as she took a drink. "Sophia." He stated her name again as he took a breath. "Is there a past that Randy and I should know about?"

Sophia choked as she tried to swallow the cold liquid. "Past?" She managed to choke out.

Dave nodded. "Yeah. Something that you've done in the past to have someone out there wanting to kill you."

Sophia swallowed this time out of nervousness. "Oh." Was all she managed to get out before everything went black.

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	6. Chapter 6

_Just wanted to give a quick and BIG thank you to those who have read and reviewed the story so far. It's serioiusly my favorite one to write right now, so I'm glad it's getting such a good response. I've had this chapter written for like a week and some now, but was waiting for to get their alerts together. So anywayz, thank you again and hope you enjoy the chapter. Review!!_

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When Sophia finally came to, she'd been moved back to the couch. Fluttering her eyes open, she saw Dave standing over her and calling out her name. Grabbing on to his hand, she managed to sit up. How foolish it probably looked with her fainting like she did. Her eyes found her husband's and without even saying a word she could read a million questions. He turned to go, but she held on to his hand pulling him back towards her.

"Randy?" She questioned when she didn't see her brother.

Dave flicked down as he felt the grip on his hand. "I sent him home." He took a moment to sigh to himself. "Sophia." He started, but she kindly cut him off.

"I know." She answered without even having to hear the question. "All it was, was a simple question and then I go and make a dramatic scene."

Dave held on to her hand as he took the seat beside her. "Babe. If there's something that I need to know." Her eyes flicked up to look at him. "Please. Just tell me." He brought her hands to his lips. "Because if it means catching your killer then please, baby."

Sophia, even now couldn't help the flutter in her stomach whenever her husband did simple gestures, showing how much he truly adored her. Sighing to herself, she scooted in closer to rest her head against his shoulder.

"It's been to long." She started. "I don't even know how to explain it myself anymore." Dave reached over to drape her legs over his lap. "I've been playing it over in my head and couldn't find no reason why anyone would want to kill me."

Dave ran his hand up and down his wife's leg in a warming gesture. "If it's too much right now." He watched her shake her head. "Just take it slow then." He had no idea what she had to tell him, but if her family didn't know, he could only tell that it hadn't been something good.

"Just after I was nineteen. I couldn't have wanted to get out of the house anymore at that time. Most of my parent's focus was on Randy graduating and really none was given to me." She gave a distant smile before she went on. "How I loved Randy though. Even as brother and sister, we were always so close." She took a moment to sigh. "He hated the fact that I was leaving and pissed because I wasn't going to see him graduate."

Dave noticed the regret written on her face even when she spoke of it now. "I don't think he holds that against you now. He loves you beyond this world." Her head tilted to look up at him. "What happened Sophia? Where did you go?" So many questions he had, but the only two that seemed to come out of his mouth.

"I traveled around for a bit. My parents asked no questions why I wanted money, so I didn't give them any to think about." She adjusted herself to sit up. "I finally came here to Miami." Even remembering it now she smiled. "How beautiful it was. People walking around with smiles on their faces. It just felt like I was free." Even Dave smiled at that thought, knowing himself what it must've felt like for her. "I knew this was my home. Where I was meant to be. To live. To work. I just knew, you know?"

"I do know." Because that's exactly how he had felt. He watched the shadow cross over her face and knew the serious part of the story had to be coming.

It was moments before she started to speak again. "His name was Robert." She stood up this time. "Swept me off my feet is what he did." Dave watched his wife move across the room. She'd done the same to him. "Bought me everything I wanted. Showed me what I _thought_ love was." The glimmer of tears showed and that had Dave standing up.

"What did he do to you?" Just a simple question, but nothing but anger could be sensed.

Sophia walked over to stand next to the open window. "He started beating me around." She said so easily. "I was grown to believe that he was just doing it because he loved me…because I wasn't living up to the standard of a good woman." Dave stayed where he was, but never sat back down. "I stayed with him. God, how people thought I was crazy. I probably was." She turned when she sensed her husband behind her.

"Why didn't you leave him, Sophia? I know what kind of woman you are, and it's not one that lets a man beat her down both physically and mentally." Sophia nodded her head in understanding. She moved passed him, much to his dismay.

"You don't want to be near me when I tell you the rest." She said it so matter-of-factly. Dave frowned at it, but did stay where he was. "He'd lost his job and we needed the money, so using his sweet side, he convinced me that if I just did a couple tricks for him that we'd be back on track…"

Dave could all but feel his pulse racing. "You didn't do it." He said with some once of hope behind it. The look that she gave him told him otherwise. "Sophia."

"So I did it for him." She continued as if he hadn't spoken. "How sick it made me feel, but somewhere I told myself that it was just for one night and I'd be making us money." The tear that fell stayed stained on her cheek. "It wasn't just for one night. It went on for weeks, months, years. I'd get up the balls to tell him no, but I'd get beaten in return, so I just did it, I did it because I was afraid I was going to die." She shook her head. "God, how stupid I was." The one tear turned into a river and there was no helping it.

Dave's heart broke. Not caring what she had told him, he crossed over to her and wrapped his arms around her. She cried…and cried. He missed the Sophia that smiled, that laughed. God, if it was by his bare hands, he'd put that spirit back into her.

"You don't have to go on. You need sleep." Dave spoke softly into her ear as he caressed her back.

"No. I need to go on." She protested as she took a step back from him. "How much of a slut you must think I am." When he went to argue that point, she just continued on. "It's a sick thought, but I guess I just grew accustomed to it. We made great money and there was less of him beating me, how I took that to heart when there was day he didn't hit me." Dave rubbed his temples to hear his wife talk like this. This wasn't the woman he knew. The strong woman he'd married. "Then it happened." That one single comment had Dave flicking his eyes up. "A regular night for me. Except for the fact that the trick that I ran that night was already somewhat planned for me."

"By Robert?" Dave questioned as the detective side finally showed up again. Sophia shook her head and he quirked an eyebrow. "Someone that had been watching you?" The look that she gave told her he'd hit it right.

"And that someone I guess had some kind of riff with Robert already. Robert bowered some money and never paid him back and by the looks of it, had no intention to do so." Feeling that dizzy spell return, Sophia took her seat back on the couch. Dave stayed across the room. "A nice Mercedes pulls up and of course Robert thinks jackpot, not knowing that something was about to go down." Dave nodded his head in understanding.

"Whoever this guy was, not wanting to make himself known, probably hired someone to play the part until the head honcho got what he had wanted." Sophia gave an impressed look to her husband and couldn't help but admire the smart in him. Part of the many reasons why she'd fallen in love with him. "So he sends you off like any regular night, what happened after that?"

Sophia blew out a breath. "I get in the car, ready to do what I had been doing for every night and he pulls out a gun, while some other guy did the same to Robert outside the car." Dave started to say something, but she'd already cut him off. "Next thing I know, both of us are in some hotel room. I'd been strapped to the bed, Robert on his knees with a gun to his head." Even now, the chills were still so fresh. "I swear I thought they were going to kill him right there and then, but I guess torture sounded better to them." She closed her eyes at the memory and let it go on. "God, I didn't how hard it would be to speak of it again." She aimlessly wiped the tear that had fallen with the palm of her hand.

Dave crossed over to sit on the table across from her. Grabbing her hands, he gave them both a light squeeze. "You can do it, baby." He assured. "But I'll understand if you don't want to." He finished with a quick smile.

Sophia returned the smile. "I love you so much, please don't hate me for what I use to be." The look of sadness returned in her eyes. "You're everything to me." Dave leaned forward to place a light kiss on her lips.

"I could never hate you, Sophia. I promise you that." He assured this time with a kiss to the forehead. "Never." He repeated the word in a whisper. "I love you too much."

Sophia swallowed hard and willed herself to continue on. "They did nothing to me. I just sat and watched. For the first time ever in Robert's eyes, I saw fear. I know it shouldn't have, but it brought me pleasure." Dave nodded. "The man who had beaten me and used me, he actually had fear in him."

"They killed him didn't they?" To hear him say that, had Sophia's eyes flicking up almost in an instant. "How did you escape?" He continued with the question as he scooted himself just an inch closer to her.

"He begged for me to help him, and I could've…one of the guys had left his gun lying right next to me and Robert saw that." No tears this time. Sadly, it still brought satisfaction to say it. "He begged me with his eyes. I almost did, but something inside of me told me that I'd rather see him dead." She sighed when she saw the look on her husband's face. "You're horrified with me, aren't you?"

The question had Dave springing out of his thoughts. "No." He shook his head as he stood up. "These guys? They just let you go?" Sophia shook her head.

"I had to finish what I had started that night." The thought of it made her sick. "With his body still in the room. I still had to do it." She pointed to the water bottle and Dave grabbed it. Handed it to her. "They paid me and sent me off as if nothing had ever happened." She continued after taking a drink. "And from then on, that's exactly how it was…as if nothing had ever happened."

Dave stood again and slowly paced the floors. The detective in him had his mind going over everything he had just heard. It could be that these guys that let her go, decided that they had made a mistake and wanted to finish the job before she'd tell anyone. Especially if they had found out that her husband was a cop. His eyes found her again. She was defeated. Everything about her, told him that she was. Slipping into the husband mode again, he crossed to over her and slipped her up into his arms.

"Dave. You don't have to carry me. I'm not helpless." Even with a protest, Sophia managed a smile.

"You were brave tonight, Sophia." He complimented as he slipped through their bedroom door. "Part of the many, many reasons why I love you."

Sophia kept the smile on her face as he laid her down on the bed. "I'm so sorry that I kept this from you. I should've told you." Regret was written all over her face. "I'm sorry." She repeated. This time for herself to hear.

Dave shook his head. "You don't ever have to be sorry, Sophia." He started as he took the place beside her. "Yes. You should've told me, _but_ I can understand why you didn't." He reached his hand out to brush over her hair. "I'm going to find whoever did this, Sophia. I promise you that too."

Sophia turned over into his arms. "I know you will." Was the last thing she said before her eyes shut for the night.

Dave stayed awake and just stared into the darkness of the room. He'd have to tell all of this to Randy tomorrow. Her brother. He could all but see how his reaction was going to be, but it was the least to think about. Someone was out with revenge on his wife and he was going to go through hell and high water to find out exactly who it was.

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	7. Chapter 7

_Finally updating this story. Yessh. Oh, and if you're a known Cena fan. You'll recognize the name mentioned in this chapter._

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Randy sat there and listened in silence as his brother-in-law made it known to him about what exactly had happened in his sister's past. She was being hunted by someone who had nothing but revenge on their mind. He was beyond pissed. Not pissed at Sophia, but for the fact that she hadn't trusted him enough to tell him about it. "I hate this. I fucking hate this."

Dave watched as Randy went from sitting to pacing the floor. "I didn't even want to leave her this morning. She just looks so fragile. Like she's going to break at any moment." Dave flicked his eyes to the picture sitting on his desk of he and Sophia on their wedding day. "If it's the last thing I do."

Randy looked over at that one statement. "When and where do we start?"

"The only thing we have to go by is his first name. Sophia never mentioned his last." Dave spoke as he turned his chair to sit in front of the computer. Randy grabbed the seat next to him.

"We can go through the deceased records. Did my sister mention the date?" Randy leaned forward as Dave shook his head. "Damn it. I knew she shouldn't have left. But, with the way my parents are I couldn't blame her either." Randy sighed as he ran his hands over his face.

Dave held up a hand as he grabbed a pen and paper. "Timeline. We can do a timeline and find out more or less the year." Randy tilted his head and looked at Dave with tired eyes. "What year did you graduate? Ninety eight?" Dave questioned as he drew a line across the paper.

Randy snickered a bit but nodded his head. "Yeah. She'd just left a couple of days before."

Dave started jotting down quick notes. Asking for Randy's assistance when it was needed. When he'd gotten up, Randy took the seat in front of the computer. At one point having to stop because of their fellow sergeant stopping in to inform them of an upcoming meeting later on that day.

"This is too close for comfort." Dave started which had Randy turning in his chair. "We've been married for four years now. Got married in late two thousand one." He shook his head as his gut started to knot. "Met her in two thousand. Damn it Randy. She said she'd been with Robert for a sequence of years." Randy opened his mouth as he caught on to what he was talking about.

"It must've just happened before you two met." Randy turned back to the computer. "So from the timeline we've got. They were approximately together from ninety eight to two thousand?" He stated in a form of a question to make sure. Dave nodded his head as he took the vacant chair.

Dave rolled his neck around his shoulders as the only sound that could be heard was Randy's fingers hitting the keyboard. He'd met his wife within the same year. Not even him being one of the top detectives could've spotted or noticed that. He could be annoyed or even pissed off at her. But he wasn't. He just wanted to find the bastard and be done with it. Possibly by his own hand.

"I got something." Randy announced loudly. It had Dave straightening up in his seat. "Marcus Robert Predka. Birth date listed as April twenty-first, ninety seventy-seven. Arrested countless times for drug possession, being under the influence, even an assault with a deadly weapon." Dave started to say something, but Randy cut him off. "And look here, spousal abuse."

Dave's mouth stayed opened as he leaned forward to read all of it for himself. "Date deceased. May of two thousand." Dave pounded his fist on the desk. "Shit, Randy. Sophia and I met only two months later." Randy cringed at the expression on his face. "Where did it say he was born?"

Randy hit print before he turned back towards his partner. "Born and raised right here in Miami."

Dave stood and pushed the chair away. "And his last known address?" He continued with the questions as he slipped his coat on.

Randy grabbed the printed documents before he too threw his coat on. "There's a few listed on here. I say we check them all out."

Dave just nodded before he lead the way out of his office. "That's what we'll do then."

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	8. Chapter 8

_For those of you who guessed the name used as John Cena's cousin got it right. I'll be changing the facts in order to fit the storyline. So if something is out of place, don't worry about it. lol. Now on with the chapter ..._

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Sophia stared blankly out the window. She had no idea on what the hell to do. What _do_ you do when there's some fucking lunatic out there wanting to kill you? The usually upbeat and outgoing Sophia didn't even want or have the need to take one step out of the house. Ever since marrying Dave, there'd been no point in being scared anymore. It wasn't even about him being in the police force, she just automatically felt safe and knew nothing would happen to her as long as he was with her. It had only took one night to change every single aspect in her life.

The sound of the doorbell almost made Sophia jump out of her skin. "Who the hell…" She started as she crossed over to peek through the peephole. She let out a sigh of relief when she saw the male on the other side. "John. Hey." She greeted opening the front door.

"Sophia. I hope I didn't get you at a bad time." He gave her a gentle smile. Sophia shook her head as she indicated for him to step inside. "Dave here?" He questioned as he scanned the room.

Sophia closed the door before turning to him. "No. He's not. Do you need to talk to him? I can call him for you…" He cut her off with the shake of his head.

"Oh no. I came to talk to you." Sophia looked at him with confusion. "I just really need someone right now Sophia. You're the only other person I can confide in. It used to be Trish, but…"

Sophia crossed over and wrapped her comforting arms around him. "Of course. I am here anytime you need me John. Let's sit down." She directed him to take a seat on the couch.

John sighed as he laid his head back against the couch. "I am just so fucking lost. I don't know what to do without her. I cannot believe that she's really gone." He turned his head to look at the woman sitting next to him. "You remind me of her. Your personality." He blurted out.

"I'm very flattered to know so. Everything is going to be okay. You know that right?" She grabbed his hand and gave a gentle squeeze. "Tell me about her." Sophia gave a smile.

John looked down at her hand. "She had soft hands like yours. Caring and comforting. Beautiful both inside and out." Sophia swallowed when he lifted her hand to his heart. "She made me a better person. It was like she was my soul mate. Do you believe in that?" He questioned.

Sophia nodded. "I married mine." A smile crossed her expression at the thought of Dave.

"Is it hard to always have a husband that is always on the go?" John kept a hold of her hand. "If I was married to you, I'd never want to leave your side." He added.

Sophia flicked her eyes up. "I've gotten used to it. Plus, when he is home it's like he never left in the first place." John cleared his throat before bringing her hand up to his lips. "John…" She started. "What…" He cut her off as he leaned over to press his lips against hers. Catching her off guard Sophia pushed him away. "What are you doing John? I can't. We can't." She fumbled her words.

John stared down as Sophia stood. "I'm sorry. I just needed…I don't even know."

Sophia just stared. "I think it's time for you to go." She stated simply.

"I'm sorry." He stated again as he stood and crossed over to the front door. "Sophia…" He let it linger.

"It's okay. I just think you need to go." She said without looking at him. The moment she heard the door click shut a huge breath she'd been holding escaped.

"What the hell…"

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Dave and Randy got back in the car. Defeated again. No such person by the name of Marcus Predka had lived in any of the addresses listed. They'd hit a dead end. Not once. Not twice. But three times. Both men just stared on as they realized that fact of getting no where.

"This fucker had to live somewhere." Randy finally spoke up.

Dave just shook his head as he started the car and put it in drive. "He probably just used the addresses for mail purposes. I don't even think he ever really had a roof over his head."

Randy sunk lower into his seat as he stared out the window. "I don't give a fuck if I have to ask every god damn homeless person in Miami. I am finding someone who knows him." He snickered.

"I need to go check on Sophia before we go to that meeting. You want to go with me?" Dave asked as he stopped at brief red light. Randy gave him a 'look'. "She's your sister Randy."

"Oh I want to see her. We have to get some information on him somehow." This time Dave gave him the 'look'. "I don't give a fuck Dave. She's held out long enough anyways. Time for the truth."

Dave sighed. "You do the talking this time around then. I did it last time."

Randy just gave a simple shrug of his shoulders. "Fine by me. I have a lot to talk about."

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The two pulled up the street minutes later. "Hey. Who's that?" Randy leaned forward in his seat as he spotted the male getting into his car. "He came out from your place." He added.

Dave lifted an eyebrow. "Looks like John." He stated when he got more of a clear view.

Randy turned and watched as the male drove past them. "What the hell is he doing visiting your wife? Shouldn't he be at home mourning?"

The suspiciousness of his tone had Dave intrigued. "His fucking wife just died Randy. Sophia has been the only he can talk to."

Randy said nothing as he stepped out of the parked car. "And you don't find that just a tad bit suspicious?" Dave frowned at him. "Finding comfort in another man's wife. I'm just saying Dave."

Dave said nothing. That meant he was contemplating. Did he have something to be suspicious about? _I better hope not._ He gave one last look to Randy before he opened the front door. "Let's go have some more fun." He stated with a sarcastic tone.

"Let's." Randy stated with confidence as he walked in behind his partner.

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	9. Chapter 9

Sophia stood and greeted the two men when they stepped into the room. They hadn't given her much time to breathe after the thing with John. What exactly was that? She still had yet to even comprehend it. She wasn't sure if she even could. The day hadn't started out like expected and the look on Randy's face told her that it wasn't going to get any easier. Just what she needed.

"Go ahead. Start." Sophia pushed her brother along as they all took a seat.

Randy smiled. Almost putting his feet up to rest, but remembered the scolding he'd receive. "Why the fuck didn't you tell me?" He just straight up asked. Dave just 'looked' at him.

Sophia cleared her throat. "You never were a subtle child." The brother and sister shared a stare down. "I didn't feel like anyone needed to know about that part of my life." She answered.

Randy leaned forward. "You didn't feel?!" He exclaimed before he took a breath. "I'm your brother Sophia. I'd fucking give my life to protect you." Randy stated more calmly this time.

"I know that Randy." Sophia started as she fiddled with the hem of her jeans. "But I was ashamed. I didn't want or need that. Especially from my own flesh and blood." She finished quietly.

Dave sat back and just let the brother and sister continue their conversation. It also gave him time to think about the suspicion that Randy had put into his mind. Not exactly something he looked forward to, but once something irked him he always and would get to the bottom of it.

"I'd never be ashamed of you." Randy had taken a seat in front of his sister now. "Sophia. You can tell me anything." He grabbed her hand, making her look up. "You don't know how much it scared me that night when I heard those gun shots fired." Sophia let a single tear fall. "And now especially knowing that there's someone out there to get you…"

Sophia tilted her head and swallowed. "I'm sorry Randy. This is exactly what I didn't want. You have a life of your own. For God's sake, you and Stacy are getting married soon. I just didn't want anybody worrying about me. Now, I've got both you and Dave doing that." She took an absent look at her husband who just gave a sympathetic yet stern expression.

Randy tugged at her hand. "You're a part of my life. Family never goes away." Sophia gave a small smile. "I promise you that we'll find whoever is out there." He shared a quick stare before pulling his sister in for a hug. "And about the wedding…" He started.

"Don't postpone it." Sophia stated quickly.

"I know you would love that…" Sophia frowned at him as he gave a smile. "Stacy wants you to be her maid of honor Sophia. She wanted to ask you herself, but considering your relationship she didn't know how or when to ask you." He grabbed both of her hands now. "What do you say?"

Sophia laughed. "Wow. That's something that I never expected to hear." Randy frowned a little. "I'd be honored Randy. I've come to adore Stacy these days." The frown turned upside down as he took his sister in for another hug.

"Thank you Sophia. She's going to be so excited. I'll have her call you. I'm sure she'll give you all the details." Sophia nodded and rolled her eyes making both men chuckle.

"Not even a month away is it?" Randy shook his head. "Nervous?" Randy sighed as he gave a big nod. Sophia gave him a gentle pat on the cheek. "It'll be fine. Just let the women do their job."

Dave cleared his throat as he stood. "Take the advice. I learned the hard way when I decided to poke my nose into our wedding plans." Sophia and Randy stood too. "Almost didn't get any…"

Sophia placed a hand over his mouth. "Personal." She simply stated as Randy grimaced. "Was that all you two wanted with me this afternoon?" She asked quickly changing the subject.

Randy looked to his partner. "For me? Yeah. I think your husband wanted to talk to you about something though." Dave gave him a glare. "I have to call Stacy anyways. As a detective though, there are a few more questions that need to be answered."

Sophia looked to her husband then her brother. "I'm not sure I'll look forward to that, but whatever you say." She spoke with a hesitant smile. Randy just gave a quick nod before finding himself in one of the spare bedrooms. "Dave, what was it that you wanted to talk about?"

Dave could've smacked Randy for that one, but turned to his wife and prepared for the question he was about to ask. "Randy and I saw John when we pulled up." He stated. Sophia just stared. "Sophia? Did something happen?" He questioned quickly.

Sophia looked up, but turned away quickly. "He kissed me."

"What?!" Dave exclaimed. Sophia started to pace the floor. "What else happened?"

"Nothing else. I pushed him off. I just think he was caught up in the moment. He's just really missing Trish right now." She tried to reason for John.

_I bet he is._ He knew he wasn't at all prepared to ask that question. The answer hadn't been what he'd been wanting to hear, but he'd deal with it. _By getting my hands around his throat._ "He didn't try anything else did he?" He questioned as he continue to stare at his wife.

Sophia shook her head. "He apologized. He's still in the mourning stage right now."

"I didn't know getting involved with somebody else's wife was part of that stage." Dave slipped out with a sarcastic tone as Sophia gave him a 'look'. "Well, how in the hell do you want me to react to something like this?" He stated harshly.

Sophia closed her eyes before she crossed over to him. "I know. I'm sorry. Because if I ever find out the same about you, that bitch won't be so lucky." Dave let a chuckle escape. "I miss you." Sophia let the sentiment slip out as Dave wrapped his arms around her waist.

Dave kissed the top of her head. "I miss you too. How about a nice cooked dinner tonight?" Sophia smiled as she looked up at him. "I'll come straight home after the meeting. Randy can pick up my slack for one night." Sophia nodded as Dave leaned in for a kiss.

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	10. Chapter 10

Dave walked through the front door of his house for the second time that day. Only this time, he wore a smile. He would get to spend a long awaited night with his wife. It felt like forever since the last time he'd gotten to do that. Hoping to find the candles lit and the soft sounds of music in the background, Dave slipped off his jacket and loosened the tie around his neck. He found silence instead. "Sophia?" He called out as his eyes scanned the front room. Nothing. "Sophia?" He called out again as he made way up the staircase. Reaching the door-way to their bedroom, the sight of his wife sitting on the floor crying had Dave rushing to kneel at her side.

Sophia jumped at his touch, but fell into his offered arms when she realized who it was. "Dave." Was the only thing that came out of her mouth as she gripped onto the back of his shirt.

"Sophia. Baby. What happened?" He rocked her back and forth in his arms. "Did something happen to you? Please tell me." Sophia pulled back from him. She just stared at him as her hand pulled something out of her pocket. Dave took the offered white envelope as Sophia watched. Dave tried to open it with ease and calm, but nothing could've prepared anyone for what was hidden inside. The sight of a woman's mutilated body stared back at him through a photo. _Son of a bitch._ "Was there a note or anything?" Sophia just shook her head. "Where did you find this at?" He asked as he slipped the photo back inside.

"I just went to get the mail like I usually do and it was there resting on top of everything else. I thought it was weird that it didn't have anything written on it, but I honestly didn't think anything of it." Sophia grabbed her husband's hand. "They want to kill me, Dave. What if they find me and kill me? I could be the woman in that photo." Dave gripped her wrist to cut her off.

"Don't ever say anything like that. I will not let anything happen to you, do you understand me?" Sophia looked up at him with pained filled eyes. "I'm here. I will protect you." Sophia just nodded as she fell into his arms again. "Let's get you to bed."

Sophia obeyed the order, but grabbed his hand when he turned to leave. "Don't leave. Please."

Dave gave a gentle smile as he took a seat on the edge of the bed. "I'm not going anywhere." Sophia sat up on her knees to reach up and share a kiss with her husband. Dave let himself enjoy the intimate gesture, but knew not to let himself enjoy it too much for the fact of what condition his wife was currently in. "Let's lay you down." He whispered as his hands rested on her hips.

Sophia just nodded. "Will you hold me?" Nothing else was said as Dave pulled the covers over the two of them. Wrapping his arms around his wife, Dave just watched as she slowly fell asleep.

_-------------------------------------------------------------_

_A sick smile crossed the male's face. She'd gotten his little present and was probably crying to her cop of a husband right now. How pathetic. But oh the pleasure he got out of it. The little bitch would pay and would pay soon. No one suspected him and that's just how he wanted it. If not a suspect, it just made everything much easier for him. She'd pay dearly. The little bitch would regret even being born after he got done with her. And the thought of what her husband and brother would do, only brought on a wider smile._

_---------------------------------------------------------------_

"What?!" Randy sprang out of his chair as Dave informed him of what had happened. "Anything written on it?" Dave replied with a simple 'no' and Randy grimaced. "How's she doing?" He questioned changing himself into the brother act. "She doesn't deserve this." He commented.

Dave stared over at his sleeping wife and sighed. "No, she doesn't. She's sleeping right now. Probably the only peace she has these days." The woman stirred a little, but didn't wake up.

"What are we going to do, Dave?" The concern was there and Randy wasn't trying to hide it. "Maybe we can put her under protective custody until we get closer to finding this jerk."

Dave grunted a little, showing that he wasn't a fan of the suggestion. "She won't go along with it and honestly I'm not a fan of it myself." Sitting up on the edge of the bed, Dave slipped the tie around his neck off and let it fall to the ground. "Maybe I can just work from home."

Randy gave an amused look as he took a seat back in the office chair. "You know that's not possible." He could all but see Dave frowning. "If not protective custody, what about her staying with a friend or family member for a little while?" There was silence, which let Randy know that he could go on with the idea. "Is there anybody that you trust enough to do so?" He questioned.

"Well, there's you. But that's out of the question. Your parents?" A slight pause. "That's a definite no go." He paused again. "Other than you and I, I seriously don't trust anyone." Dave stated truthfully making Randy chuckle a little. "I don't know what the hell to do, but I know that I can't continue leaving her by herself." The male sighed as he rubbed the back of his neck.

Randy let himself think for a little bit. "What about Stacy?" He blurted out. "All she's been doing is planning the wedding. It could take Sophia's mind off of all of this and it'll be a chance for them to be all girly and shit." Dave gave a nervous chuckle. "I'm serious Dave."

"Yeah. I can tell that, but come on Randy these two women previously hated each other, why ruin it?" Randy frowned and Dave flicked an eyebrow at the silent curses. "Plus, that'll just be putting Stacy in danger. If not one woman, they'll have two."

Randy coughed a little. "Let's see then. The only other person that's left is John. Sophia considers him a friend and I'm sure he wouldn't mind protecting your wife."

Dave glared into the darkness at the mention of his name. "There's no way in hell." He practically growled. "We're going to figure something out. If need be, then it'll be with Stacy, because Lord knows I will not let that jerk touch my wife again." Randy flicked an amused eyebrow at the sudden hatred of the recently widowed.

"Did something happen between them or something?" Randy went ahead and asked. There was silence and Randy knew the answer. "Okay. Whatever it was, I don't like him either now. Get to bed brother-in-law. We have a lot work to do in the near future." He ordered hearing the male yawn over the phone. "Goodnight buddy."

Dave flipped the cell shut. There was something about this John fellow that was starting to irk him. He didn't know if it was for the fact of knowing that he'd kissed his wife or if there was something more to it. But he'd find out soon enough. John Cena would just have to become his new best friend. Grabbing his phone and pressing redial, Dave waited for his partner to answer.

"What is it?" Randy asked quickly.

Dave looked over at his wife. "I want you to do a background check on someone for me."

Randy yawned as he grabbed a pen. "Who would that be?"

"John Cena."

_----------------------------------------------------------------------_


	11. Chapter 11

_Hope everyone has or had a Happy Easter!_

_------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------_

Dave sat up and watched as his wife slept peacefully for the time being. The light of his phone, got him distracted. Stepping out into the hallway, Dave answered it quietly. "Yeah?"

"Dave, I found something."

Dave straightened at the sound of Randy's voice. "What? Tell me."

Randy shook his head over the phone. "No. You need to come in."

"Damn it, Randy. I don't want to leave Sophia here."

The male sighed through the phone. "Bring her with you then. She'll probably need to see this too."

Dave peeked in to his room and contemplated. "Yeah. Alright. Give me fifteen."

"Alright. See you."

The click of the phone had Dave entering the bedroom and heading over to his wife's side of the bed. Lightly shaking her, he spoke her name in a hushed tone. "Sophia." The woman stirred and quickly opened her eyes. A smile crossed her expression when she saw her husband.

"Yeah? What is it?" She questioned as she sat up in bed.

"We need to go to the station."

Sophia looked at him confused. "We? Dave, I'll be fine by myself." Dave shook his head. "Dave." She stated when she saw the serious expression. "Is something wrong?"

Dave helped her out of bed. "We just need to go." Was all he said before he grabbed her a sweater out of the closet. "It could lead us to whoever is doing this to you." He added.

Sophia just stared as she slipped the sweater over her head. "Okay. You should've just said that from the beginning."

_-------------------------------------------------------------------_

Randy slowly sipped at his cup of coffee. He still cringed at the bland taste. But if anything was going to keep him awake, then it would have to do for now. A yawn escaped as Dave and Sophia walked through the station doors. A small smile showed as his sister gave him a quick hug.

"So, what is it? Dave said you may have something." She quickly cut to the chase.

Randy cleared his throat as he turned the computer screen towards the twosome. "John Felix Anthony Cena. Cousin of the one and only Marcus Predka."

Sophia pressed a hand to her heart. "John?" She looked at her brother for conformation. Randy nodded his head. "I never knew. I…" Her other hand covered her mouth. "No. You don't think?" She looked at her husband now, who just like her had a somewhat shocked expression.

Dave tightened his fist closed. "I fucking knew I should've never let him near you."

Sophia jumped at the anger in his voice. "Dave. He couldn't have anything to do with this. Trish was his wife for God's sake."

Randy cleared his throat. "Maybe she had been part of the plan all along."

Sophia frowned. The thought of seeing the couple for the first time had her shaking her head. "No. John loved her. I felt and saw it that night." She tried to convince.

"Maybe he did." Randy started. "But maybe his love for revenge overpowered his love for her."

"How though? She'd been the one to indicate for them to take the dance class. She told me so that night and the way John was acting…it just all doesn't sound right." Sophia closed her eyes as she tried to take everything in. This couldn't be. John was her friend. He'd lost his wife that night.

Randy eyed the other male as he continued to pace the floor. He looked at his sister again. "Maybe he planned the location that night, knowing Trish would indicate exactly as she did." Sophia looked up at that. "You just have to consider it Sophia." He added when he saw the confusion and hurt in her eyes.

Sophia swallowed hard. The nauseated feeling had her sitting down. "I just can't believe this." She sighed. "I never met any of his family members. Hell, I didn't even know he had family."

"I don't want you anywhere near him." Dave made clear as he finally stopped the pacing.

Sophia closed her eyes. "What if he comes over to the house?"

Dave stayed quiet. "You'll stay with Stacy from now on." Sophia just looked at her husband. "Randy already said it was okay. We'd both feel safer if you did so." He made sure to add.

"What about Stacy? How does she feel about this?" Sophia questioned her brother.

Randy gave a short smile. "She'd love it. You'd be helping her plan the wedding. It'd take away some of the stress and it'd help me a lot. I swear the woman has gone crazy." His attempt to lighten the mood had succeeded as both Dave and Sophia laughed a little.

"Fine. I'll do it. You two promise to be careful though? Having both my brother and husband in danger, doesn't help the stress level at all." Sophia said it as she looked between the two men.

"We'll be fine Sis. I promise. Plus, I've paid too much for this wedding already, not to take part in it." He tried to assure, as he stood to give her a hug. "I love you." He whispered in her ear.

"Love you too, brother. But, if I go more crazy than I already am, I'll be coming after you."

Randy nodded. "Duly noted."

Sophia smiled in return. "And you." She turned to her husband now. "I know you'd do anything to protect me, and that's what scares me about this. So please be careful. I love you too much to lose you. You got it?"

Dave kissed the top of her head as she wrapped herself into a hug. "I love you more than words can say." He sighed into her hair. "We'll find the son of bitch who's doing this to you. I promise you that." He held her at arm's length now. Sophia just nodded her head and smiled as she rested her hand against his cheek. "I'll be fine." He made sure to assure.

"You better."

Randy cleared his throat as he approached the married couple. "I can take you to the house." He offered.

Sophia looked at Dave, who nodded in response. "I'll drop off some clothes for you later today." He directed the statement at her. Sophia just stared for a long time. "I love you."

Randy took it upon himself to wait outside as they shared a moment together. Why didn't he and Stacy have little moments like that? He wasn't and hadn't ever been a mushy type of guy, but it wouldn't hurt for them to show some type of emotion toward each other. Shrugging to himself, Randy let it go as he closed the office door behind him.

Once Sophia heard the door close, she jumped into her husband's arms and kissed him with the utmost affection. "Be safe." She whispered against his lips. The male smiled in response.

"When all this is over and done with, we're taking a long awaited vacation."

That put a smile on the woman's face. "Somewhere Tropical?"

Dave wrapped his arms around her waist. "Anywhere you want baby."

Sophia cupped his face and kissed him again. "Miss you already."

Dave just nodded his head as he watched his wife make a slow exit out of the office. His head was telling him that everything was going to be okay, but the feeling in the pit of his stomach was telling him a whole different story. And it wasn't a good one.

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	12. Chapter 12

She couldn't breath. Her vision was blurred. She couldn't move. The tears stung as they ran down her face. She jumped when she heard the male next to her yell. Her attention turned to him as he stared back at her. Sophia tried to scream through the draped hand over her mouth, but it was of no use to even try.

Everything had changed in one simple moment. It hadn't been John. Of course, it hadn't been John. She should've just went with her gut. Now, she'd gotten him in as much danger as she was. Not only had she been thrown for a total loop, but neither Randy or Dave had any idea of what was going on. Sophia closed her eyes and jumped again as the torture continued. She'd be next. Dave and Randy would never know. Even if they did figure it out, they would probably be too late. More tears as she thought of it. They'd gotten what they wanted. They'd succeeded.

_-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------_

**Three hours earlier …**

_Sophia sat quietly in her brother's living room as his fiancé made her way upstairs, to make a phone call. Sophia wasn't bitter toward the woman, but wedding plans were not something she currently wanted to worry about, when she currently had her brother and husband out there, in possible danger. Stacy didn't look worried at all. Something about that irked Sophia the wrong way._

"_Sophia! Could you get that please!" Sophia jumped out of her thoughts and at that moment realized that the doorbell had been ringing. Wasn't she the one that was supposed to be protected? Shaking her head, Sophia grabbed her empty wine glass and headed toward the door._

"_What the hell are you doing here?!" Was the first thing she said when she saw the blue eyed male standing on the other side of the door. Her grip on the glass got tighter._

_John taken aback by her response just stared. "Stacy called me and said that you wanted to see me."_

"_What?" Sophia questioned as she stepped out and closed the door behind her._

_John slipped his hands into his jean pockets. "Yeah. She said that you suggested to invite me over for dinner." He paused for a quick second. "Why didn't you just call me?"_

_Sophia's mind was trying to process this information. Why the hell would Stacy call John? She looked at the male staring back at her. Was he lying? Just a ploy to get her to surrender?_

"_You think I'm that stupid?"_

"_What?"_

_Sophia raised the glass and took a step forward. "You think I'd just give up that easily?" John's mouth opened, but Sophia didn't let him speak. "I know you want to kill me for what happened back then, but I'm not going down without a fucking fight."_

_John put his hands up in defense as he reached out to grab the woman's wrist. "What the hell are you talking about Sophia? I don't want to kill you. Why the hell would you think so?"_

_Sophia struggled a little but stopped when she saw the sincere look in his eye._

"_Your cousin. Marcus."_

_John just shook his head. "What about him? I haven't talked to or seen him since I was a kid." He tilted his head. "Wait. How do you know about him?" Curiosity rang in his tone now._

_Sophia's breathing became heavy all of a sudden. "Oh God. They're looking for the wrong person." Her legs became heavy, John having to catch her before she fell. "They're still out there. The people that want to kill me, John. They're still out there."_

_What the fuck was going on? Was all John could ask at that moment. Had the woman gone crazy? Then, it was at that moment he got his answer. The tall blonde standing at the door way, the barrel of a gun, pointed in their direction. Sophia mumbled something as tears started to stream down her face. She hadn't gone crazy. They'd been set up. Both of them._

"_Surprised?" An evil grin spread across the woman's lips._

"_Why? How?" Were the only things that came out of Sophia's mouth._

_John wrapped his arm tightly around Sophia's wrist. She moved under his touch a little bit before looking back at him. Before she had anytime to process anything, Sophia found herself running along side John as they tried to escape their possible horrid fate._

_They were almost there. They had almost made it to his car. But they'd been prepared. A van as dark as night screeched up, large men filed out as they dragged the twosome into the vehicle. The sound of Stacy's laughter echoed as the tall blonde hopped into the van herself._

_--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------_

Sophia had no idea where they'd taken her and John. All she knew is, that it was hot. Blistering hot as the sweat from her brow, fell into her already glistening eyes. Her eyes fell on Stacy as she made her way to have a seat in front of her prisoners. "Why?" Sophia asked again.

Stacy smirked as she seductively crossed her legs. "Recognize any of them Sophia?" As if on cue, the masked men revealed themselves. Stacy's smirk grew wider when she saw Sophia's eyes bulge out of her head. "Everything coming back now?" It was a taunting tone.

Sophia stared at all of them. The faces of her past. The men that had killed Marcus that night. The men that could've easily killed her along with him. Now, they were here to finish the job.

"What? How are you involved?"

Stacy stood up, making her way toward John. "Your friend Sophia here, was a hoe way back in her day." John snickered at the female as she took a seat on his lap. "I mean literally. Prostituting herself for money." John's eyes flicked to the emotional woman sitting next to him. "I mean who does that to herself?" A horrid laugh came out of the blonde's mouth, with the men joining in.

"Sophia?" John tried to ignore the woman on his lap as he called out her name.

Sophia's head fell, in pure shame. "I did it for him. That's the only reason why I did it."

John growled when he felt Stacy trying to cop a feel. "Marcus?" Sophia just nodded. John blew out a breath. "I had no idea, Sophia. I really didn't."

Sophia turned to look at him. "I know that now." It was both sadness and regret in her tone as she said it. "I'm sorry for everything."

Stacy gave a sarcastic laugh when she stood again. "Always the noble bitch."

Sophia snickered under her eyelashes. "You still haven't answered my question."

Stacy pouted her lips and nodded. "Of course. Why and how would I be involved in all this right?" Stacy crotched down beside Sophia. "See Marcus never did really love you, he just acted like it, for your poor sake." Sophia twitched when Stacy touched her. "Because he loved me more." That got Sophia's attention real quick and Stacy smiled at that. "You had no idea that he was married did you?" Sophia gasped in response as Stacy pulled out a picture of the twosome. "Happily married, I might add…until you showed up and caused his death." Pure anger in her eyes now as she swatted Sophia hard across the face.

John's instinct tried to let him move, but it was of no use. "Leave her alone." Stacy didn't even look his way, before one of the men answered for her, by using his fist.

Sophia swallowed hard. "I had no idea." She spoke quietly as she continued to stare at the picture. Her eyes traveled up to Stacy's again. "You had him killed, didn't you?" Everyone stayed quiet. "Why didn't you just kill me then? It would've been a lot easier for everyone, if you had."

"And miss out on fucking your hot brother?" The smirk returned. "I don't think so." Her eyes traveled down to Sophia's wedding ring. "Too bad I could never seduce your husband though. That would've just been icing on this already beautiful cake."

Sophia's jaw tightened. "You little bitch. No wonder I hated your fucking guts the day that I met you. I should've took that as a clear sign." Stacy raised an intrigued eyebrow. "Dave would've never fucked you anyway. He didn't like you either, he was just too nice not to say anything." Sophia smiled a sarcastic smile as Stacy glared. One of the men cocked a gun and Sophia just stared in return. "You want to shoot me now? Go ahead fucker."

Stacy held out her hand in protest. "No. Don't." She ordered. "She's not getting off that easy. I want to make the bitch pay."

"Do want us to take him out?" One of the guys asked referring to John.

Stacy just nonchalantly shook her head. "He can stay. I'm sure he needs to get off somehow, now that his wife is gone." John's eyes flicked up quickly at the realization of how his wife died.

"You fucking bitch! You killed her! You killed my wife!"

Stacy placed a hand over her heart and fluttered her eyelashes. "That'd be me. Though, I could only take credit for the planning of it, the guys here can take the actual credit for pulling it off."

"Randy will find out and he'll kill you himself."

Stacy turned back to the other woman. "Not if I get rid of him first."

Sophia shook her head. "You'll never get away with it."

Stacy looked unimpressed as she started to untie the rope around Sophia's wrists. Everyone stayed quiet until Sophia was officially free. Sophia whimpered lightly as Stacy grabbed a fistful of her hair. "You're going to fucking pay for making my life miserable."

"It was your fucking husband who chose to do what he did. Maybe you should look at the fact that maybe you weren't a good enough wife." John said it as he watched Sophia squirm under the touch of Stacy's hand.

"You shut the fuck up!" Stacy cursed as she pushed Sophia toward one of her men. "He hated you and your family. You guys gave up on him. I was the one that was there for him! I was the one that he loved! He loved me!" The high pitched scream had everyone cringing.

Sophia laughed at that, grabbing everyone's attention. "Are you trying to convince us or yourself?" Stacy glared. "Because honey, he sure didn't seem to be thinking about you when he was fucking me and all those other hoes." Stacy cried out in violent manner. Sophia went unfazed. "But don't worry, he wasn't all that good anyway."

John just looked at the smug look on her face. Was she purposely trying to get herself killed? He continued to watch as Stacy stalked slowly toward Sophia, lunging herself at the other woman, knocking both of them to the floor. All the men rushed to Stacy's aid, leaving no attention to the lone male on the other side of the room.

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	13. Chapter 13

_Sorry about the delay on updating this story. That's what I get though, for having too many stories to update. lol. Anywho, t__his one probably has a good three chapters left anyway. And so a big THANK YOU goes out to those who have read and reviewed so far. As always, it's very much appreciated!_

_Hope you enjoy!_

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"She's not answering her phone." Dave exasperated as the attempt to get a hold of his wife, was turning out to become more of a hassle than it should've been. "Why isn't she answering her phone?"

Randy heard the panic in his brother-in-law's voice. "I'm sure everything is fine. She and Stacy are probably just busy doing whatever women do." He made sure to give an assuring smile, as he called his soon to be wife at home.

Dave had no comment as he watched and waited along with Randy, as they both hoped to hear Stacy's bubbly voice telling them that everything was okay. But it didn't happen. "Something's wrong here. Cena isn't home, both Stacy nor Sophia want to answer their phones." His jaw clenched at the thought of that man having his hands on his wife. "That son of a bitch is going to be sorry."

"Dave."

"What?" He snapped.

Randy tossed his phone over, Dave giving a curious look as he caught it. "It came from Cena's phone."

_**WAREHOUSE. OCEAN. PIER.**_

Randy watched as Dave rounded the car in a hurry. "What are you doing?"

"I'm going to find my wife."

"We need back up, Dave. We don't know what we're dealing with here." Randy commented as he hopped into the passenger seat. Dave snatched the radio away. "Dave."

"No. I want to deal with this fucker on my own."

Randy looked at him with wide eyes. "You cannot be serious."

Dave turned and stared hard. "You can either get out of the car right now or grow some fucking balls, because I'm really not in the fucking mood right now, Orton."

Just as if he'd gotten scolded, Randy just cleared his throat and nodded his head. He could've protested all he wanted, but it really just wasn't going to be possible, especially with Dave.

_-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------_

John dropped his phone and cringed when everybody turned to look his way. Sophia, a bloody mess now, along with Stacy looked at him with curious eyes. John just gave a mild shrug, hoping it was only her that saw it.

"What was that noise?" Stacy demanded as she stalked over to John. "Speak up now, you son of a bitch."

"Leave him alone Stacy, he has nothing to do with this." Sophia protested. "Just let him go already."

Stacy ignored Sophia as she picked up the dropped phone, flashing it for everyone to see. John looked away, cursing to himself. "Look at what we have here." Flipping through the messages, Stacy stopped on the one sent to her fiancé. "Like you were really going to get away with it." The sadistic smirk showed as she brought the phone up to her ear. "Looks like, I'll just have to really give my future husband something to worry about."

John waited for her to cross in front of him, before he slipped his foot out, tripping and making her let go of the phone. Sophia took that second to get out of the large men's grasps, picking up the half dialed phone. "He'll never become anything to you, I can promise you that much." Sophia spat as she and Stacy stalked around each other. "I'll kill you, before I let you touch him again." All Stacy did, was laugh.

"You really cannot be serious with that bullshit."

"Can't I? You really do underestimate me, my darling Stace."

Sophia begin to finish dialing her brother's number, when Stacy lunged at her, missing her by an inch as she did so. "Get her!" The screaming demand directed at the four men. "Come on! I didn't fucking have you here, so you could just stand there!"

John shook his head when he saw Sophia start toward him. "Don't worry about me, get out of here." Sophia just stared. "Go! Hurry!" But before Sophia could do was she was told, the cock of a gun was heard in her ear.

"Who's underestimated now, bitch." Stacy taunted. "Oh, the pleasure I'm gonna take of seeing you suffer, just like you made my Marc suffer." Sophia closed her eyes and waited for the end to happen. "Randy." His name ran off softly from her lips. "It's not …"

"Stacy?"

Sophia fluttered her eyes open and found herself staring straight at her brother. "Randy." It came out as a cry of help. Randy flicked his eyes over to his sister and started over, not before Stacy changed the direction of the gun to point at him.

"No! I'll have you this time. I will not let her win again." Stacy exclaimed.

Randy looked confused. "What the hell is going on, Stacy?" The plead had the blonde softening a little bit. "Please tell me what's going on, baby."

Stacy shook her head profusely, as she wiped at the single tear that had fallen. "It has to be done. She deserves to die, Randy. She deserves it." Randy went to protest, but before anyone had time to think, that single shot went off.

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	14. Chapter 14

_Talk about taking forever to update, right? But anywhoo, the next chapter shall indeed be the last! It'll probably more of an epilogue than anything else. So yeah, just keep a look out for that! And as always, enjoy the read! ;)_

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There was no pain. Was she not supposed to feel pain? Sophia opened her eyes in a reluctant way. It hadn't been her that had gotten shot. She saw the blonde sprawled out on the ground. "Randy." She called out.

"I'm right here."

Sophia looked up at her brother. Those vibrant blue eyes had turned grey, as he lowered the gun and stared down at Stacy. "I'm sorry." Randy said nothing in return. Sophia let the tears fall. He hadn't deserved this. And it was all her fault, that he had. "Are you alright?"

John looked down at her, as she freed his hands and feet. "Are you?"

"I will be."

"Where did they go?"

Sophia looked confused. "What? Who?"

John stood. "Her henchmen. They're not here."

Sophia hadn't even taken notice until now. "I…" She looked over at Randy again. "I don't know."

"They can't get away." With that said, he brushed past Sophia.

"No, John don't!"

Randy finally looked up at his sister, hearing the protest. "Where's Dave? He should've been here, by now." He watched as the color drained from his sister's face. "Sophia don't!" It was his turn to protest now, as she turned and ran toward the exit.

Dave had to be okay. He just had to. Pushing through the warehouse doors, Sophia fell to her knees. "Oh God." She sighed in exhaustion.

Dave turned at the sight of his wife. "Sophia…" He fell to his own knees, capturing her in his arms. "You're okay." Brushing her hair back, he cupped his wife's face in his hands. "I was so scared to go in there. I didn't know if…"

Sophia had seen her husband cry before, but never this broken. "I'm here, baby. I'm okay."

He kissed her forehead. "They're all in custody." He spoke, referring to the men.

"Good. That's good." As if, just remembering, "Where's John?"

"He's giving his statement."

Sophia looked at Dave. "He had nothing to do with it."

Dave watched his partner walk out, before he looked back at his wife. "I know that now."

"This is all my fault, look at him."

"_Do not_ blame yourself, Sophia. Nobody knew anything."

Sophia wiped the tear that fell. "But he loved her, Dave. You can't help who you fall in love with."

Dave held on tighter. "No. No, you can't."

_--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------_

Randy could still remember the first time he'd met her. A sweet, bubbly girl. A sweet, bubbly girl who'd swept him off his feet. And by God, he had met her at Sophia's workshop. How could he have not figured it out? It was his job to figure things out, for God's sake. Stacy had been planning his sister's demise the whole time. It made him sick to his stomach, to even think about it.

"Randy."

Randy turned to see Sophia walking up. He saw the guilt in her eyes.

"I'm so sorry. If I would've told you about my past earlier, maybe…"

"Shut up, Sophia."

Sophia looked hurt, when her eyes locked with his. "I deserve that. God, I'm so sorry."

Randy grabbed her arm, pulling her in for an embrace. "I don't hate you, Sophia…" He sighed, holding on to her hands. "But I almost lost my sister today. That's something I _never_ want to go through again."

"I hurt so many people, Randy."

"Look at me," So she did. "You had no way of knowing…" He paused before saying her name. "You had no way of knowing, Stacy was involved in this."

Sophia saw the sadness. "You loved her, Randy."

Randy shook his head. "I loved who I thought she was."

"I'm here for you."

"You better be. I wasn't going to let you out of my sight, either way."

Sophia smiled for the first time that night. "I wouldn't have it any other way.

I love you, brother."

"I love you too, sister."

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The next couple of weeks would turn out to be an adjustment, to say the least. But everyone had stuck together, and so slowly but surely, things were getting back to normal. As normal as it could be, one would have to guess.

Today, Stacy's burial would be taking place. Sophia already knew Randy would be attending, because he'd talked to her about it. Stacy may have done what she had done, but she was still a person; somebody's daughter, sister, and almost a wife. If she was going, it would solely be to support Randy.

Dave, on the other hand, already had made his stubborn mind up.

"She almost took my wife from me, to hell if I'm going to pay respects, Sophia."

Sophia smacked him up aside the head, and watched him frown. "And Randy, is what to me?"

"I _thought _he was your brother."

It was her turn to frown at the sarcastic statement. "She almost became his wife, Dave. He loved her. You can't be mad at him for that."

Dave flicked on the television. "And I love you more."

Sophia shook her head. "Obviously not."

"Sophia!" He growled, watching her stomp out of the room. He would not be talked into going. He just wouldn't.

Too bad the guilt trip, had already started to set in.

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"I tried." Sophia, speaking in reference to her husband.

Randy just nodded. "He has a right to feel the way he does, Sophia."

It was Sophia's turn to nod. "I know that." She started. "I just wish he would've gotten the fact, that I needed him here."

"You didn't have to come either."

"Yes, I did." Grabbing her brother's hand, "I'm here for you, remember?" Randy gave the closest thing to a smile, as he led the way. "Are we the only ones here?" Sophia questioned, noticing the empty cemetery.

"It appears I never met her parents for a reason." Sophia just listened. "Mother died at birth. Father was into drugs, died of an overdose only a couple of years later."

Sophia blew out a breath at the new information. "Stacy said they were away in Europe. I should've known right there, that she was lying."

"Everything about her was a lie, Sophia."

Suddenly confused all over again, when they came upon the grave site. "Then who are they?"

Randy looked over at the older couple. "Her adopted parents."

Sophia stopped at the sudden anxiety. "Maybe I can't do this." Tears threatened as she looked over at the woman and man, Stacy had called parents. "I thought I could, it's just…" Arms wrapped around her, but they weren't her brothers. "Dave." She sighed.

Dave looked over at Randy, who excused himself. "You're going to be fine."

"You came."

"_Only_ for you."

Sophia took a deep breath. "I can do this."

Dave placed a loving kiss on her lips. "Yes, you can. _But_ if at anytime you want to leave, you just let me know. Okay?" Sophia nodded in assurance, as she clung to her husband for the much needed support.

"Alright then. Let's go get this over with."

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End file.
